“Every few years, gas prices go up; politicians pull out the same old political playbook and then nothing changes,” Obama said. “And when prices go back down, we slip back into a trance. And then when prices go up, suddenly we’re shocked. I think the American people are tired of that. I think they’re tired of talk.”

Story Continued Below

But this weekend as an anticipated 39 million Americans drive 50 miles or more for the holiday, the Obama administration is preparing to release 30 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Meanwhile, AAA reports the price of gasoline per gallon has declined from $3.63 just before the announcement to $3.55 on Friday. Gasoline prices peaked this year at nearly $4 a gallon on May 5.

Some critics say the president’s action betrayed his lofty rhetoric about energy.

“This is the shortest of short-term fixes,” said Spencer Abraham, who served as President George W. Bush’s energy secretary from 2001-05. “It very much falls in the category of politically expedient actions.”

“Tapping our security reserve should be reserved for a real national emergency,” Abraham told POLITICO. “No matter what, you should only use the reserve for a legitimate national crisis — not because prices are too high. … It is a national security backstop, period — not a little piggybank that you can take from and then put back to address minor matters.”

Even less partisan observers were skeptical.

“It’s hypocritical, but he’s obviously sacrificing his desire to be consistent for a political gain,” said David Frank, a professor of rhetoric and dean of Honors College at the University of Oregon. “The president and his advisers understand gas prices will be one issue on a large constellation of issues that they need to navigate through and between, so they are sacrificing consistency to keep their eye on the political prize.”

A White House spokesman on Friday portrayed Obama’s action as consistent with his rhetoric.

The president, he said, “has been clear that there is no silver bullet to deal with gas prices. The SPR is one measure we can take immediately to address the ongoing supply disruption.

“But as the president has said, we also need to have a long-term energy plan to reduce our reliance on foreign oil,” said the spokesman, who asked not to be named. “That’s why we continue to take steps to reduce America’s dependence on oil by continuing to expand domestic production, investing in alternative fuels and increasing the efficiency of the vehicles we drive.”

This is the third such release from the reserve since it was established 36 years ago. The last was in 2005, when Bush released oil in response to Hurricane Katrina. The Obama administration’s release will account for just over 4 percent of the current holdings in the reserve, which is owned by the U.S. government and represents the world’s largest emergency crude oil supply.

When Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the Obama administration’s decision on June 23, he cited the “ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries.”